BP attacked over £136m logo as petrol prices soar

BP Amoco, the oil company, was criticised last night after unveiling a new logo that will cost £136 million to introduce at a time when petrol prices are rocketing.

The logo, which resembles a sunflower, will replace the BP shield, the company symbol for 70 years. It cost £4.6 million to design and BP Amoco will spend £132 million over two years on rebranding its stationery, van liveries and manufacturing plants.

Other innovations include pumps with internet access, giving motorists travel and weather information as they fill up, part of a refurbishment programme at the company's 28,000 petrol stations.

The RAC said that spending so much money on a brand image was insensitive at a time when petrol prices had risen to as much as £1 a litre in some areas. "People dependent on cars, particularly those in rural areas, the elderly and the disabled, are having an extremely hard time because of the cost of fuel. They will not be too pleased to see that the company is spending so much money on its corporate image."

Kate Gibbs, of the Road Haulage Association, which represents freight companies and their drivers, said members would be shocked at such expense. She said: "While the debate about rising fuel prices has raged, fuel companies have protested that they get only a small cut of what the consumer pays.

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"This shows that they are not as impoverished as they would like us to believe." As for internet access, Miss Gibbs said: "I am sure all drivers would rather save money and not have these technological advances."

An AA spokesman said: "If people felt that some of that money could have been used to bring down prices, I don't think that would ever happen. The price of fuel is determined by many factors: including the price of crude oil, tax and the pound against the dollar."

Amoco's chief executive, Sir John Browne, said last night: "Put simply, we have adopted a single brand to show our customers around the world that, wherever they see the BP sign, they can consistently expect the highest quality." He added that the logo, which the company calls the "Helios mark", would "greatly strengthen the sense of identity and common purpose of our 100,000 staff in more than 100 countries".